Application apparatus of the type to which the present invention relates is disclosed, for example, in EP-A2 1 153 579. This application apparatus comprises a base body in whose receptacle a substance is received. Following the removal of a cover foil, the substance can be accessed and can be removed with the assistance of an applicator.
It is frequently necessary in a dental practice to use substances comprised of two different material compositions or components, which must be maintained separate from one another before the substance is applied. In this connection, one configuration of the above-noted publication provides two chambers which are covered by foil which can be punctured. A similar configuration is, to be sure, well known as is disclosed, for example, in DE-PS 19 60 074.
One of the components of the substances to be applied is frequently a fluid or, at least, a viscous component, and the other component is in powder form. U.S. Pat. No. 6,450,717 discloses an improved configuration of the type of application apparatus constituted in this manner. In this improved configuration, a working end of the applicator is provided with one component of a substance to be formed which is wetted as a consequence of dipping or submersing the applicator in the other respective component which forms the substance. The configuration is suitable if the other substance component is a liquid. The application apparatus disclosed in this publication engenders, however, comparatively high work tool costs, in that three synthetic molds must be separately produced. Two of the three molds cannot be configured without an undercut, so that a valve must also be used in connection with the work tools. For this reason alone, the work tool costs ratchet significantly upward. It would, however, be desirable to have ready, for various amounts of substances, differing application apparatus. The configuration disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,450,717 due to the reason of the high work tool cost, only permits recourse to one—and, indeed, a relatively large size which makes the production of this one-time use product comparatively expensive and requires more synthetic material than would actually be required.
Moreover, the application apparatus disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 6,450,717 is, basically, only particularly hand-maneuverable if it is firmly held. A non-gripped, set down placement of the application apparatus requires either a special stand or engenders the risk that the application apparatus will tip and, consequently, lead to loss of the liquid, if the application apparatus has already been opened.
One can provide, in fact, a continuous peripheral edge along the base of this known application apparatus in order to increase its set down placement stability. This, however, would worsen the hand maneuverability of the application apparatus and would require the use of still additional synthetic masses.
The application apparatus disclosed in EP-A2 1 153 579 provides a side hand grip. This application apparatus, as well, nonetheless tends to disadvantageously promote a shaking out of the substance retained therein if the application apparatus has been disposed on a base after the cover foil has been opened.